MY FIRST REAL STORY!! I MUST HAVE CAKE TO CELEBRATE!! But yes - this is my first ever proper story that I've actually completed, but I'm going to upload it in chapters every few days in case people (readers and reveiwers, my friends. Hint hint.) find mistakes and I can correct them chapter by chapter.
DISCLAIMER: Artemis Fowl owner? Me? I wish.
Foaly was not in a happy mood. It had all started with a message from an officer on the monitoring desk. The scopes had picked up a big blip – a troll, big bull, ten miles out of Jasper National Park in Canada, en route to a main road. Foaly had relayed the message through to the Commander – Tusk.
Tusk wasn't a bad fairy, a bit indecisive, but he was practically a godsend after Sool. Anyway, Tusk had decided to ask his deputy, Major Kelp for his opinion. Major Trouble Kelp had instantly taken matters into his own hands and sent out one of the Recon officers – a sprite called Spix.
Spix had gone up top and identified the troll. That was when the troll took him out. Luckily for Spix, the troll hadn't realised he had swiped the officer into a bush, so his chances of decapitation were minimized. Though admittedly, not by much.
Major Kelp had seen the whole thing and instantly took control of the LEPretrieval squad sent out to neutralize the troll. Foaly rolled his eyes. Typical Trouble – always on the lookout for a tricky situation to help out in. Not that anyone minded – after all, the elf was the best.
Holly rushed into Foaly's booth, "Situation?"
"Not much going on," Foaly didn't take his eyes from the screen, "Aren't you meant to be training that new girl? What's her name? Alexis?"
"Alora," Holly snapped. "Do we have visual?"
"Keep your head on!" Foaly whinnied, "That's just what I'm trying to establish! And who died and made you in charge of special Ops?"
Holly sighed and glared at the screen as though it had offended her, "I'm here because who was the last fairy to neutralize a fully grown bull troll on the surface?"
"Some fairy," Foaly smirked, shrugging.
"Ha ha," Holly said wryly, "Visual?"
"Way ahead of you," Foaly swivelled round to face her and gestured grandly at the screen, "I got live feed. Just like last time, red dot is the troll. Those black dots are the retrieval squad, led by our very own Major Kelp. The blue dot is Spix, who is currently taking a time out in a bush, or so we believe."
"Any humans nearby?" Captain Short asked(she had come back to the LEP following the Hybras incident but still helped Mulch and Doodah Day whenever they needed a hand).
"A whole main road full of them," Foaly pointed to a winding snake on the screen labelled 734.
"Great," Holly groaned. That was all they needed.
"Hey, Foaly," Trouble Kelp's voice came through loud and clear, "You alive or are we on our own up here?"
"Sorry, Major," Foaly clip clopped back into his swivel chair and faced the screen, "Visitor distractions."
"Holly, right?" Trouble replied, a trace of amusement in his voice.
"That's right." Holly affirmed, "How're things up top?"
Thousands of miles above, Major Kelp chuckled, "Just peachy thanks, Holly. Any advice you could give regarding this situation would be highly appreciated."
"You got it, Major," Holly nodded, even though Trouble couldn't see her.
Trouble hovered seven metres off the ground, flying at high speed to where his helmet tracker said Spix was currently unconscious. He pulled up the LEP hostile fairies data base and accessed trolls.
"Trolls," Lilli Frond's voice filtered into the Major's earpieces, "Largest recorded at one hundred and ninety kilos. Trolls do not like light or loud noises, locating their prey mostly with their highly developed sense of smell. If faced with troll, run away and call for an LEPretrieval team. Do not attempt to approach a troll. If you see someone attempting to approach a troll-" Trouble cut off the file in disgust. He hated Lilli Frond's voice: it just made him want to hit stuff.
"Major?" One of Trouble's juniors came online, "We have a visual. Repeat, we have a visual. Coming up on your left. Number five out."
Trouble looked down to his left and sure enough, there was the huge bull troll, roaring in pain at the light and the growing noise of traffic assailing its sensitive ear drums. Trouble fought the urge to gasp. The thing was massive! Easily the size of a bull African elephant.
"Foaly?" Trouble just managed to make himself sound calm. Just. "Foaly, how the hell did this thing get up here?"
"I'm not actually sure," The centaur admitted, "According to the scopes it just appeared out of nowhere." Trouble could tell Foaly was frowning; he hated it when there was a glitch in his systems.
"Never mind." Trouble shook his head, "Numbers one, two and three set up a hologram in case this gets within view of the road. Four, five, six – with me. Surround and cut off. Set your guns to stun only. Go."
His orders were swiftly obeyed and within seconds the troll was surrounded by shielded fairies with a holographic image blocking it from the main road. They could only hope the troll's bellows couldn't be heard from inside the cars.
Everything was working perfectly. Trouble nodded to himself and gave the signal to fire. Then things went wrong.
On the road, a middle aged truck driver had just fallen asleep at the wheel, having driven all night and most of the day. The steering wheel under his head rolled to the side and the truck veered into the other lane.
A young woman and her teenaged daughter were in the Volkswagen Beetle next to the truck. They never stood a chance and were killed instantly. Their car rolled over into the lane of oncoming traffic. One driver managed to swerve out of the way, but the driver behind him wasn't so lucky.
Her car hit the crushed Beetle dead on and spun through the air, hitting another car on the way. Both of them screeched uncontrollably off the road, the truck which had started the whole thing following.
The truck picked up speed and crunched the first car under its tyres. The gas tank exploded and the front of the truck was wreathed in fire. It pushed the second car in front of it and they both careened full speed into the troll.
Trouble watched the whole thing with horror written on his face. Holly was yelling something to him but he couldn't hear – all he could see was the truck of death, complete with flaming troll bust, roar towards number six.
Without thinking, without a shred of concern for himself, Trouble shot forward and barrel rolled into number six, throwing him out of the way just in time for the truck to crash into his own body.
Foaly and Holly watched the whole thing from number three's visor, their mouths open in horror. Holly could do nothing but watch as the truck continued on its way, gradually rolling to a stop.
Foaly was the first to recover his senses, "Nergal!" He said urgently, addressing number one, "Get out of there now! The fuel tanks…"
Exploded. Violently. Holly imagined she could actually feel the heat on her face and hear the force of the blow. Number three spiralled backwards out of control, burned and shocked, but alive.
Nergal was also alive and began calling out numbers, demanding a check in. The responses were shaky, "Two here,"
"Three alive."
"Four…okay I think."
"Five okay,"
"Six hurt but alive,"
A rush of static on the channel Trouble should have checked in on. That was when Holly Short, Captain of LEPrecon, broke down in Foaly's office and cried.
Two Weeks Later
Trouble was alive. He was pretty sure being dead wouldn't hurt as much as this. His entire body hurt, some places more than others. The skin on his chest, for instance, seemed to have been burned, and sent flares of pain racking through the Major's small body whenever he moved, which wasn't often.
He had no idea what had happened, or where he was. Right now, he couldn't see, due to a blindfold tied tightly round his head. He was also pretty sure that he was horribly, embarrassingly naked.
He tried to say something, and his vocal cords rasped painfully, unable to produce anything more then a croak.
"He's awake."
Humans. Trouble considered struggling as he felt heavy footsteps vibrate through the cold metal floor beneath him. He decided against it on the basis that he might be able to gain some information if he lay still and he felt like a dwarf had just tunnelled him through. Not nice.
"A shame his magic was almost dry," A male voice commented. Trouble stiffened. They knew. What was this?
"He can hear us I presume?"
Someone mumbled something incoherent and Trouble could sense the man nodding. "Fairy," He addressed Trouble, "We are going to remove your blindfold. If you struggle or try to escape we will hurt you. Do you understand me?"
The other person mumbled something else and the man sighed, "I see. Never mind, we will give him some water if he behaves."
Trouble's skin itched and tingled as the man knelt beside him and tugged off the blindfold, none too gently. Trouble squeezed his eyes shut against the sudden brightness until his eyes had adjusted, then he opened them cautiously.
He was in what appeared to be a small trailer or portacabin. There was a man, the owner of the voice, Trouble assumed, who was looking down at him with mild interest. He had a slight gingery moustache and flat greasy hair. His eyes were an unremarkable blue and his body was thin and wiry, clothed in an expensive suit. A short, fat man with glasses was sweating in the corner as he scribbled furious notes onto a clipboard.
"Fairy," The suited man looked down his nose at Trouble, "We are going to escort you outside. There you will bury this acorn we found on your person." He held up a small glass capsule, containing soil and one acorn. "We are protected and you have nothing to rely on but your magic, as all your equipment was destroyed in the explosion."
He turned away and addressed the fat man in the corner, "Get something for him to wear later. He can't be naked all the time."
Trouble's face heated with embarrassment. Thank the gods that Foaly wasn't watching, or anyone else for that matter. Except these Mud Men. Trouble narrowed his eyes at the short fat one as the suited one left. The short fat Mud Man glared down at him distastefully and responded by kicking him in the chest. Hard.
Trouble couldn't hold back the gasp of pain or the tears that clouded his vision. His mind was still trying to cope with the agony when the bespectacled man wrenched his head up by the hair and threw him bodily to the door.
Trouble's vision darkened and he passed out for a few seconds. He kept his eyes shut, willing his body to shut down again so he wouldn't have to suffer this indignity and humiliation. He had no such luck as the trailer door opened and the fat man nudged his body with a polished shoe, pushing it down the three metal stairs to collapse in the cold mud outside.
Trouble shivered involuntarily. "Luther," The suited man sounded displeased, "I would thank you not to injure him unnecessarily." He waved Luther away and crouched opposite Trouble. He held out the sphere containing the acorn, "Take it," He urged, "Regain your magic and heal yourself."
Trouble twisted his features into a scowl, "No!" He managed to croak out, "It's what you want!"
The man sighed, "You're only making things more difficult for yourself," He spoke patronisingly, as if to an ignorant, stubborn child. When Trouble only refused again he called over Luther. "Go ahead." He rolled his eyes and turned his back as Luther hurried towards Trouble, sick glee on his face.
He plucked the sphere from the mud and smashed it on Trouble's head. The elf winced and Luther sniggered quietly. He grasped Trouble's slender hand in his flabby sweaty one, crushing the acorn into Trouble's palm forcefully. He pulled their hands to the mud, and though Trouble tried to struggle, he was far too weak.
As soon as the acorn connected with the brown sludge, blue sparks began to rush from it to Trouble, up his arm and into his chest first. The major jerked and thrashed, Luther keeping a death grip on his wrist with one hand and sliding on some mirrored sunglasses with the other.
The suited man started in surprise when Trouble emitted a high keening wail – his brain testing his body functions. His hair grew an extra inch and his nails stretched out. The blue sparks worked to repair his damaged body and in five minutes it was done.
Trouble sank into the mud, utterly exhausted, then suddenly full of life. He knew mesmer wouldn't work while the Mud Men were wearing the sunglasses, so shielding was his best option. He tried, but before he could get his molecules vibrating to their full potential, Luther locked a bracelet round his wrist. A painful jolt of electricity shot into Trouble's wrist, and he stopped trying to shield.
"Every time your molecule vibration levels rise above a certain level the bracelet activates," the suited man informed him. Trouble glared at him hotly for his trouble. "But who cares?" The man smiled like a shark which has just scented prey, "We only really need you for one thing, and after that, you're fair science fodder."
"What thing?" Trouble spat, his vocal cords healed. The man laughed and shook his finger.
"If I told you now it would ruin the surprise," The smile vanished, "Come. There is much to do." Trouble found himself held very securely in Luther's grip as the sweaty man followed his boss.
)O(
--BECAUSE I CAN'T DO SIMPLE SPACES...--
)O(
Freda was cold. She shivered uncontrollably, not just from the temperature, but also from fear. Here she came…Freda watched like a cadged animal as a hand stretched towards her and grasped her long dark hair, matted and tangled.
Ellen Parker gave a hearty tug and the girl crawled reluctantly from her small prison. "And so it begins," The woman muttered theoretically, "Luther can't wait to get his hands on you."
Freda shuddered. Luther Parker was Ellen's brother and he took sick pleasure in hurting things. Live things. This was going to hurt.
Fear rose up to claim Freda and the journey from her trailer to the next was a blur. Luther was already there, cackling and rubbing his hands together, for all the world like a cartoon villain. A thick pipe leaned against the wall by his side. Freda gazed imploringly at her captor, Charles Florin. The suited man shook his head and nodded to Luther.
Ellen shoved her forward and Luther grabbed the pipe from the wall, smashing Freda in the back with it.
Freda had told herself firmly earlier that she would not scream, but all self-made promises evaporated as Luther began to beat her in earnest, cracking her back, smashing her sides, whacking her limbs as hard as he could till she was a screaming, sobbing bloody ball on the floor.
Only then did Charles motion for Luther to stop. The fat man did so with disappointment, stroking the pipe fondly. Freda continued to cry in pain after he had stopped, every breath out a moan, growing fainter as her blood seeped away.
"Bring him out, Luther." Freda was vaguely aware of Charles speaking and Luther opening a door and dragging something inside. Perhaps an animal to feed on her blood as an experiment? But then why go to all this trouble? Freda's thoughts petered out and she closed her eyes, wet with tears she had been unable to contain.
The voices were faded now, and Freda could feel herself slipping away. Something knelt next to her and she eased open her eyes slowly. A child? No – a fairy. A hand rested on her head and a trail of blue sparks flowed from him to her.
Major Trouble Kelp had seen some nasty things in his life, but nothing could have prepared him for the raw horror of the Mud Man Luther beating a Mud Maid – a child! With a steel pipe till her body lay broken and battered at his feet. He leaned away to retch and a trickle of bile dribbled off his lip.
Then Luther had dragged him roughly from the small room adjacent to this where he had been rudely shoved and the suited man had simply nodded at the girl dying on the floor as if to say "Your turn."
Of course Kelp knelt beside her and rested his hand on her head. He knew this was all going to the Mud Men's plans, but he couldn't allow an innocent to die. "Heal," He whispered, and blue sparks from him to her.
I see you fairy, Whispered a voice in his head. Trouble's eyes widened and he nearly withdrew his hand in shock. Don't heal me fairy! The voice pleaded, and Trouble realised it must be the girl. He shook his head as if to dislodge her and continued to gently push the blue sparks into her.
No! She cried, you don't know what you're doing! What you've done! No! Trouble frowned, pulling his hand away till just a finger rested on the girl's skin. But the damage had already been done.
Light pink-violet sparks erupted from Freda's body and Trouble reared back in shock. What was this? As if in answer to his question, the suited man spoke, "Freda here is an experiment. We captured an elf and grafted its genes with those of a human's. Freda is the result. Amazing really, that she survived, but she did, and with a very special gift buried just beneath the surface. You see, fairy,"
Luther came up behind Trouble and pinned his arms to his sides while Ellen bound and gagged him. Charles Florin heaved a sigh, "You see fairy, the elfin genes unlocked the original human magic. The problem was releasing it. You have just done so. Congratulations."
Trouble growled obscenities into his gag as Luther dragged him back through the door. "Your main use has been served," Charles concluded, "You are now free game to our scientists. Enjoy." He smirked and raised an imaginary glass as Trouble was hauled, kicking and screaming from the trailer.
Charles Florin turned his attention to the girl writhing on the floor in her own blood, the wounds sealed and the blood replaced. Freda gradually stopped moving, apart from the occasional twitch and spasm and Charles nodded to Ellen to remove her. A new chapter in human history had just begun.
Dum dum duuuuuum!! Reviwers get to share my celebratary cakes. I have sponge and chocolate. Take your pick! Be aware, even a few words are appreciated!